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Regional Structures
=I. Regional Structures = A. This is mainly for DST’s. After your city is fairly well along in development, contact the other DST’s of your Region and start discussing how they will have interacted. Keep the RST in the loop for these conversations, because the RST gets the final say on history outside Domains, and can support ideas to help Domains interact. For example, if three neighboring Domains are planned to be IS, CA, and OD predominant, they might work out a history of the OD domain serving as a mediator between two otherwise argumentative cities. B. Consider Clan relationships, as well; Clan should be more prominent in the new Chronicle. C. The RST will be able to tailor the Regional Covenant structures for each Region. However, the basics are these: 1. Invictus: One Viceroy, chosen by political maneuvering, able to call on the Invictus’ resources from various Domains. Invictus who get out of line can be censured, their lieges’ contacted (and perhaps censured), etc. Regional Authority: The region is helmed by a Viceroy who, traditionally, wields power on behalf of an absent (Note: This may even be a theoretical) Emperor. Viceroys do not take an active hand in the management of domain-level politics - rather, the purview of a Viceroy is to a) coordinate inter-domain efforts, b) settle inter-domain disputes, and c) assist Invictus princes in maintaining praxis. Viceroys maintain a privy council consisting of every Invictus Prince in the region, along with other advisors at his or her discretion. Each member of the privy council allots some asset to the Viceroy for use at the sole discretion of the Viceroy. This may include Resources, Retainers, Allies, etc. Offering the most or most useful assets is an ideal way to curry favor with the Viceroy. Maintaining Discipline: The Viceroy may take disciplinary action unilaterally, including directing Monomacy, increasing or decreasing Covenant Status, or simply denying the benefits of regional cooperation. Overuse of this power will typically see the Viceroy deposed, and possibly killed. Gaining and maintaining power: The surest way to gain entrance to the Privy Council is to take Praxis in one's home domain. There are a variety of ways to become Viceroy, much as there are a variety of ways of becoming Prince, including Prestation brokering, direct challenge, and assassination. A Viceroy may be put into position using a Covenant Status comparison, using the same mechanics as the Red Book describes for using Status to determine who is the real Prince in a contested Praxis. Rather than City Status, Invictus Covenant Status is used for calculations, and a quorum is required. A quorum consists of representation of at least three cities ruled by the Invictus. A Region with fewer than three cities ruled by the Invictus does not have a viceroy, and is considered something of a wilderness among the Covenant as a whole. Mustering a large amount of influence and a large number of vassals is therefore often the first step to Viceroyalty. Failure to do so may mean that one takes power, only to lose it immediately thereafter. A new Viceroy must stand on his or her own for a period of three months before gaining access to the assets of the Privy Council, so purely physical Viceroys are often shown to be incompetent in this period, and fail. 2. LS: A Regional Synod, presided over by one of the three Regional Cardinals, attended by Bishops and Archbishops. A supermajority can declare blasphemy or heresy; the blasphemer or heretic can recant or accept the consequences. Consequences frequently include assassination attempts by the faithful, or mercenaries. Regional Authority: A Synod of Bishops and Archbishops, presided over by a Cardinal. Decisions are made by ballot, and the synod is convened quarterly or semi-annually, providing premises for GotM's, etc. A quorum is representation from at least five cities within the Region, and the presence of a presiding Cardinal. Maintaining discipline: The Synod can declare heresy by a two-thirds vote, forcing characters who are outside the bounds of canon to recant or face opposition throughout the region. Refusal to recant in the face of a declaration of heresy is de facto acceptance of adopting a PvP antagonistic character role. Heretics should expect to be targeted by assassination attempts. Less severe penalties are signals to guide the faithful away from inappropriate actions. The Synod can remove or grant Covenant Status with a majority vote. Gaining and maintaining Power: To gain a seat on the Synod, one must become a Bishop (by consensus of the local domain) or an Archbishop (by seizing praxis). To become a Cardinal, one must be elected with the support of a majority of the Synod. Initially the first Cardinal for each Region may be an NPC under the control of the RST, but the players have the ability to remove that NPC or add additional Cardinals (up to 3) as they see fit. The authorities that can give can also take away- losing consensus, losing Praxis, or a revocation of the appointment by the Curia can come for any number of reason 3. OD: A triumvirate of the three Sworn Oaths, with each Oath selecting their representative. What enforcement powers this body has are still under discussion, but may include Moroi “hit squads.” Regional Authority: While they each have authority over their individual areas of jurisdiction (politics, research, and defense), they must come to unanimous consensus on matters that cross jurisdictional lines. Maintaining discipline: The Triumvirate also serves as a judicial function, and can punish people by stripping title, stripping status, imposing fines, or forcing periods of torpor up to 1 year. In extreme circumstances, the Moroi may simply execute criminals. (Note: This is one of the factors influencing the consideration of making the Moroi an NPC-only Bloodline.) Gaining and maintaining Power: A dragon wishing to gain power within the covenant regionally must become Sworn. Local-level decisions are often affected most heavily by Rank and Coils, but the Sworn are the overriding factor at the Regional level. The Sworn choose their own leadership as outlined in the Covenant book. The sole exception is the highest-ranked (by Coils) Unsworn, who serves as the Regional Convener, working as an assistant to the Triumvirate. The assistant has a good deal of power as gatekeeper, though, scheduling what issues come before the Triumvirate. A unanimous vote of the Triumvirate may move an issue higher or lower in the agenda, but this is not common practice. 4. Acolytes: One Rex Nemorensis, chosen by defeating his predecessor and having the political skill to remain in the position. Enforcement is through the ability to direct one major tribulation per season that all Acolytes are required to support, or more commonly Cista Mystica, preventing an Acolyte from learning any additional Cruac until the order is lifted. 5. Carthians: A Regional legislature, with leadership chosen by vote, and trials used for enforcement of proper Covenant behavior. While not a ruler, the legislature is presided over by a Speaker who is elected by the legislature at the beginning of each session. A quorum for a legislature consists of Carthian representatives from at least five Domains. Regional Authority: On regional matters, Carthians submit themselves to a legislature consisting of one representative from every domain in the region. All Carthians may attend and speak, but only one per Domain may vote. All decisions are made by discussion and ballot. A quorum is representation from one third of the Domains in the Region. Maintaining Discipline: The Carthian Movement is less disciplined than many other covenants, but the Parliament is capable of ordering a tribunal to discipline members of its own covenant. Even the most individualist Carthians accept the authority of a duly-elected legislature and their tribunal. Tribunals require an accuser and a defendant (bothCarthians; other Covenants must find a Carthian advocate to speak on their behalf to arrange a tribunal), and five judges. The accuser chooses two judges, the defendant chooses two, and three of the four judges must agree on a fifth. Failure to come to consensus means the Parliament must choose the fifth, with names being nominated and then voted upon until one is selected by a majority of the Parliament. This is also considered a failure of the four judges selected; these four lose one point of Carthian Status for being unable to agree on a fourth unless two-thirds of the Parliament votes to hold them blameless. Once a fifth judge is empaneled, the trial is then held, with the accuser requesting a penalty from the reduction of Covenant Status to death. Debate is strictly limited to no more (and often less) than one hour for each side of the quarrel. Well-prepared and succinct advocates are crucial; good advocates usually gain Status. The tribunal rules by majority vote, and the assembled are expected to carry out the verdict, even against their very Sires, Childer, coterie-mates, or loved ones. Failure to do so is taken as sound evidence that the criminal has Blood bound or otherwise controlled other Carthians, adding charges to the sentence and almost always assuring that the guilty individual will be killed by any Carthian that can manage the job. Carrying out the sentence against a difficult-to-punish criminal is usually rewarded with Status, and on rare occasion, even Prestation from the collective of all Carthians in a Regain. Gaining and maintaining power: Power in the Carthian Movement comes from the ground up. There is no shortcut to power, and aspiring politicians must pound the pavement, trading favors and building relationships to gain influence.